At every turn, University of Saskatchewan goaltender Roddy Ross has beat the odds going from a junior ‘B’ netminder to a NHL drafted pick.
In his second season playing with the Huskies men’s hockey team, Ross has taken over the crease as the team’s starting netminder and has been one of the top athletes at his position across the Canada West conference.
“I’m definitely a lot more comfortable this year with the starts I’m getting,” said Ross. “It helps that I’m doing what I can and playing well.”
Ross sits first in the Canada West with a sparkling 6-0-1 record and a .933 save percentage, while he ranks third in goals against average with an even mark of 2.00 on the year.
Those numbers are hardly surprising for the three-year Western Hockey League veteran, who played 90 games at the major junior level with Seattle and Regina after spending the 2016-17 season playing junior ‘B’ with the Onion Lake Border Chiefs.
Being picked up by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft was a proud moment for the Canoe Lake First Nation – Ross grew up in the Meadow Lake area.
This year with the Huskies he’s decided to pay tribute to his community and heritage with a new Indigenous-themed goalie mask.
“It’s a lot more personal for me,” said Ross. “It’s a way I can show my culture and a way I can show how to be proud. Be proud of where you come from and be proud of who you are.”
The mask features a prominent feather headdress adorned by beads surrounding the face mask, along with a First Nations horse and rider on the back plate.
Artist Morgen Schinnour of Schinny Designs in Lethbridge, Alta., spent more than 36 hours crafting the mask for Ross and said it’s a project that the pair have wanted to collaborate on going back to Ross’ WHL days.
“We kind of had the ideas floating around and then when he reached out I asked him if that was the one that he was wanting to do again,” said Schinnour. “I had it pretty much all ready on my computer to go, so it was nice and easy. I was really happy that we finally got to do it because I was excited about it, I love doing those types of designs.”
Ross received the mask ahead of the Huskies’ recent 5-1 victory over the University of Regina Cougars and even though he knew what Schinnour had in store, it was still a special moment.
“I kind of knew what it was going to look like,” said Ross. “But, when I saw the finished product I was like, ‘Wow.’ It’s great, it’s well detailed and I’m just very excited to keep wearing it.”
Growing up, Ross looked up to other First Nations goaltenders like Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and is now hoping the mask will elicit a similar feeling for other Indigenous youth in the province.
He believes the mask will provide a visual cue for those coming from a similar background to not only chase their athletic dreams, but to show pride in the communities they come from.
“If I got this platform to do it, I’m going to do it as much as I can,” said Ross. “For me to do that and try to inspire the youth to be proud of who they are, it’s a great feeling.”
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